AndyC wrote:
It's real easy for a pacifist-minded soldier to put bullets over the head of the enemy at a distance - but I've never have heard of many in the trenches in close-up combat who didn't fight with everything they had to save themselves or their buddies. That lady who shot the burglar 5 times in the face recently - does Terry really want to tell her that she wasn't capable of pulling the trigger?
When your back is against the wall and you have to pull the trigger to save lives, 99% of people will.
As a Vietnam vet, I don't see what "Vietnam" has to do with anything, because all conflicts pit soldier against soldier, and not everyone will react the same. From my combat experience, the vast majority of ground forces performed with distinction and bravery, although the majority were "draftees" who didn't want to be there in the first place. I had the mission to intercede on their behalf, and regardless of fire directed at me, as I was just doing "my job" as they did theirs. Of course when one felt rounds impacting one's aircraft, the PF (pucker factor) does go up. Have I thought about some of those experiences, especially some of the nastier ones? You bet, over the years I think we all replay events over in our head, and give pause. But in the end I believe most know what they did was the necessary thing to protect their own lives and the lives of their fellow soldiers. I have no greater respect for anyone than I do for those ground troops who did their job with great bravery.
Say, have you fired that thing yet?
